Academic Policies

FERPA

About FERPA: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

In 1974 Congress passed
the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act otherwise known as "FERPA" ( 20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99), a Federal law designed to protect the privacy
of student education records.According to the Department of Education, this
law applies to educational agencies and institutions that receive funding under
any program administered by the U. S. Department of Education.

The American Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO)
define FERPA as:

"A Federal law designed to protect the privacy of educational records, to
establish the right of students to inspect and review their education records,
and to provide guidelines for the correction of inaccurate and misleading
data through informal and formal hearings."

FERPA allows institutions to release information from a student's record without
the written consent of the student to school officials who have "legitimate
educational interest" and who need access to the information to fulfill their
professional responsibility. A school official is a person employed by the University
in an administrative, supervisory, academic, research, or support staff position,
including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff.